Jess Update XIX

Hello – and welcome to my 19^th Update.  Today I am exactly 18 months old!

A couple of weeks ago it was Doffy’s birthday, so HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DOFFY!

Because my last Update was way back in October, I’ve got loads to tell you, so you’d better get comfy…

In mid-November last year, Mummy, Daddy, Alex and I moved from the Central Coast, NSW, to Hidden Valley (which is a ‘suburb’ of Tembagapura), West Papua, Indonesia, approximately 2,000 metres (or 6,500 feet) above sea level.  I’ve been having a great time here, meeting new friends, learning to speak – both English and Indonesian – and I very quickly got used to having Tati around to fawn over me!

There are a few little kids in our area and I meet up with them twice a week at Playgroup.  I’m a very sociable little creature and I really enjoy playing with other kids.  I’m pretty easy-going and play nicely with the other children.

In my last Update, I told you that I said a couple of words like “hello” and “yes”, so you’ll be amazed to hear how my vocabulary has grown.  I now say all sorts of things – clearly – including:

Mummy
Daddy
Ah-yek, [Alex]
Tati
Ma-Ga [Grandma]
more
again
up
pasta
juice
dor-dee [dirty]
bus
good girl
bye-bye
cake
bry-ya [umbrella]
car
yes
no!
baby
mine! (not the hole-in-the-ground variety, the ME variety!)
dolly
bar-bis [breakfast]
dummy
poopy
cup
apple
goodnight
ball
cheese
book
tissue
biscuit
shoes
please
OK
nor-nee [naughty] – which I say while waggling my finger and which I sometimes combine with “Ah-yek”…
all gone – which I say at various times, but most notably after I’ve flushed the toilet and while I’ve got my head further into the toilet bowl than is strictly hygienic in order to notice the disappearance of toilet paper.
Ah-yek (or Mummy, or Daddy etc), where are ya? – which I say in a little sing-song voice, especially when I wake up in the morning and I’m wanting someone to come and get me out of bed.
‘scuse me (when when I cough, sneeze or burp)

and I can name some of my friends:  Nadia, Pryah, Brooke (all from Playgroup), Dylan & Natacha (from Alex’s class at school), and Suti (Dylan’s maid of whom I am very fond).

As well as learning to speak English, I’m also learning to speak Indonesian.  My parents ask me where my nose is or where my ‘hidung’ is, and I touch my nose and say “nose”.  They ask me either where my ears are or where my telingga are, and I touch my ears and say “ear”.  When I’m asked either where my eyes are or where my mata are, I touch my eyes and say “eye”.  Then they ask me either where my head is or where my kepala is, and I touch my head and say “kepala”.  I know where my bottom is, although I call it my ‘pantat’ (and am very good at reporting “Poopy pantat, Mummy!”).  I know where my feet are, although I don’t call them ‘feet’, I call them ‘kaki’.  My tummy is known by the English name, although my cheeks are known by their Indonesian name which is ‘pipi’.  My teeth can be either ‘teeth’ OR ‘gigi’, and because my Mum thinks I’m always on the verge of getting more teeth, I respond to the question “Baru gigi?” (or “New teeth?”) by baring my pearly whites for all to see.  My mouth is my mouth, but I also know to touch it when I’m asked where my ‘mulut’ is.  Whenever I get off the bus I say “ma-kasih!”, which is the shortened version of ‘terima kasih’, meaning ‘thank you’.  In fact, whenever I should say ‘thank you’, I say ‘ma-kasih’ instead.  And although I say ‘excuse me’ when I’ve sneezed etc, if I push past you, I’ll say “permisi” (meaning ‘excuse me’).

I also repeat, parrot fashion, a lot of things that my family say, but the words I simply copy do not necessarily form a regular part of my vocabulary.

I know what the dog says (and also bark when asked what the ‘anjing’ says); I know what the cat says (and meow when asked what the ‘kucing’ says); I know what the duck says and even make the appropriate hand quacking gesture; I hiss when asked what the snake says; I moo when asked what the cow says; I make an attempt at some sort of noise when asked what the bird says (but do know that a bird is also a ‘burung’); I know what a ‘kupu-kupu’ (butterfly) is, but am a bit unsure about the word ‘butterfly’; and I know that a spider is either a spider or a ‘laba-laba’.

I love having a new friend in Tati.  (It helps that she thinks I’m the cleverest and cutest thing that ever lived!)  Tati takes me out walking each morning, plays games with me, takes me out into the garden to look for kupu-kupu, laba-laba, burung or anjing.  My Mummy has to sometimes wrestle me away from Tati because I think Tati would like to hold me and cuddle me and never let me go!  Mummy has a bit of a battle on her hands in order to be the one to put me into bed and get me up again after my nap!  Tati likes to take me into her room to feed me rice and biscuits, and shows me off to anyone who walks past or anyone we’re sitting with on the bus.  She tells anyone who’ll listen that I’m an “Indonesian baby” because I say some Indonesian words and I like eating rice and banana!

I’m a neat and tidy person.  Just this morning, for example, I took my wet nighttime nappy PLUS Alex’s wet nighttime nappy (which he’d thoughtfully left in the bathroom) to the garbage bin.  Whenever I come inside, I take off my shoes and put them away and always remember to close my cupboard.  I don’t mind in the least packing up the blocks or trains after Alex and I have finished playing with them.  If there’s a spill on the floor or table, I go, unprompted, to get a tissue to wipe up the mess, then throw the soiled tissue in the garbage.  If I pull all the Tupperware out of the cupboard to play with, I pack it all away again when I’m finished (although I do need to be reminded sometimes).  My parents are desperately hoping that these tidy traits continue well into adolescence.

Right from Day One I’ve really enjoyed dolls.  Nanna & Grandpa in Canada sent me a soft doll when I was born, and although I don’t make a fuss if she’s not there, I like to have her in bed with me each time I go to sleep.  My parents gave me a Cabbage Patch doll (called Justeen) for my first birthday and I like her, but I’m very attached to Alex’s Cabbage Patch doll (which he’s never had any interest in) called Andrew.  I hold him up on my shoulder and pat his back and rub his head.  I try to give him some of whatever I’m eating or drinking, and I’m very protective of him.  I get upset if he falls, or if his shirt isn’t on properly.  I give both Dolly and Andrew giant cuddles while I’m going to sleep, and I sing the first line of “The Sleeping Song” to them.

I love books!  I enjoy having them read to me, but I can also spend great lengths of time (up to half an hour) sitting quietly in my room ‘reading’ books to myself.  I’m not entirely conventional with my reading – or perhaps I’m just super-advanced – because I seem to be most happy when the book is upside down.  Similarly, reading from back to front doesn’t pose any cause for concern.

I’m a happy and easy-going kid.  I don’t generally make an unwarranted fuss, I cope pretty well with being sick, I’m usually happy to be held and cuddled by anyone, I don’t get too upset at having toys taken away from me by other little people, and I still eat almost everything.  I’m great at blowing kisses and like to do so whenever we leave or say good bye to anyone.  I blow kisses to strangers sitting at the bus stop when we walk past them, I blow kisses to everyone in the shops, I blow kisses to people walking past our house while I’m out the front doing a spot of gardening.  Although I’m good at blowing kisses, I’m fairly aloof with regard to giving real kisses:  I merely present my cheek to be kissed!  I love being tickled, tossed up in the air and roughed up a bit by my Daddy.  I’m very cuddly and can sit for long periods of time snuggled into my Mummy or Daddy.  I’m also a bit of a dare-devil like my brother.  He’s taught me to climb over the backs of the lounge chairs and up the bars on the windows of our house.  He’s taught me to jump on the bed – the higher the better.  He’s taught me to stand, precariously balanced, on the arm of our lounge chairs and dive forward onto the couch.  I enjoy climbing up the (very tall) ladder at the park in order to slide down the corkscrew slide (see attached photo).  I’m a bit of a trickster and find it hilarious to blow raspberries on Daddy’s tummy, to hide from or find Alex in a game of hide & seek, and to chase and be chased.  Daddy’s trying to teach me how to throw and catch, and although I like the game, I’m not always so clear on those tricky rules about having to actually let go of the ball/ balloon when I’m throwing, or stretching my arms out ready to catch.  I enjoy ‘talking’ on the phone, and if you’ve ever tried to ring me and the phone is constantly engaged, it’s no longer necessarily the case that Daddy’s on the internet; it well may be that either I’m ‘on the phone’, or I’ve left the phone off the hook after my most recent conversation.  While I’m on the phone, I chatter for a few minutes, then toss my head back and laugh, then do some more chatting.  I glance at the ‘watch’ on my wrist, fiddle with a pen, twirl the phone cord, make appropriate facial expressions, then chat and laugh some more.  It’s VERY cute!

Having said all of that, I’m also getting pretty good at throwing tantrums and there’s certainly nothing wrong with my lungs!  I can bellow with the best of them!  Sometimes I can be easily distracted, but at other times I’m in for the long haul and can well and truly make my frustrations known.

I haven’t been measured or weighed since being in Indonesia, but I’ve definitely grown.  Most of my clothes are now too small and Tati has had to cut the feet out of my all-in-one PJs.  The other bit of growing I’ve been doing is my hair.  The front of my hair is dead straight but so long that it gets in my eyes and annoys me.  The back of my hair is VERY curly and so doesn’t look long until it’s wet, but when wet, my hair touches the top of my shoulders.  Not bad for a once-bald baby, eh?

And I think that just about concludes my news.  I’m really looking forward to our family holiday back to Australia in a late March.  I can’t wait to see my family and my friends from Mothers Group, and show everyone how I’ve grown into such a lovely and loving little toddler.

I hope this finds everyone well.

Lots of love,
Baby Jess
xxx